Wednesday, October 1, 2014

My girl has an uneven waist. One of her hips appear to be higher than the other.

When we brought her to the orthopedic or spine doctor, he first asked her to bend forward to see if any part of her back protrudes out. Then he took an X-Ray of her back and legs too.

The X-Ray of the back was to see whether her spine was actually curved as those with scoliosis have. The X-Ray of the legs was to ensure that the legs are of equal length. The X-Ray revealed that her legs were the same length but her back was curved near the top.

The doctor said that she has scoliosis. You can go here to find out more about scoliosis of the spine with video and images including the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options.

He measured the angle of curvature shown on the X-Ray. According to him, it was between 8 to 12 percent. He told us that we had to go back every 6 months to monitor whether the curve was getting worse.

However, when he heard that she had already got her menstruation or period for 2 years, he said that was good news as most of the growth spurt occurs within 2 years after puberty. So, he told us to go back once in a year instead of once every 6 months to have a check up.

When we asked him whether the condition was due to her carrying heavy bags to school, he said there are no proven studies to show that. However, he said we can buy her a trolley bag if we wish to lessen her load. Although he has said this, I still feel guilty as a parent watching her carrying loads to school during her growing up years.

He said we could get her to do some exercises like swimming to strengthen and make the back more flexible. I hope that all will be fine in a year's time when we bring her for a follow-up check up.

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